Nearly 200,000 construction workers quit their jobs in September, the most in any month since the first half of 2023, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Quits rose 46,000 from August and 71,000 year-over-year.
The industry had 298,000 job openings at the end of September, up 36,000 for the month and 92,000 year-over-year. Layoffs and discharges fell 56,000 from September 2025 to 138,000, and the layoff rate remains lower than in any month on record before 2020.
“Nearly 200,000 construction workers quit their jobs in September,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “That’s the most in any month since the first half of 2023 and a strong indication that the industry’s labor supply is once again tightening.”
Basu added that reemerging shortages will push labor costs higher on top of elevated borrowing and material costs, and that more than one in four contractors expect profit margins to contract over the next six months.
Read the full report here.
